We Won't Crash
by SeaSaltSkye
Summary: Zombie AU. Heartless are those creatures who feed on flesh and corrupt the human race. Xemnas wants to find the cure: "Hearts". Riku finds the truth and exposes liars. Axel just wants to eat icecream and read comic books with his best friend, but their past is constantly nipping at Roxas' ankles. AkuRoku & Side pairings. Info inside.
1. I

**So, I've been planning this AU for a good two weeks now, and really, I'm not even close to finishing the _planning _but I thought I was going to burst if I didn't get SOME of the writing finished. Chances are, there _will_ be lemon in future chapters (I mean, who reads multichapter fics without lemon?) there will be gore (this IS a Zombie AU after all.) and as much as I'd rather let all these beautiful characters just live happily ever after, there will be character deaths.  
****So, what can you expect from this** **fic**?  
**Gore, Smut/Lemons, Fluff, character deaths (although I avoid this as much as possible), and perhaps some angst?  
****Anyways, review or something, cause I'll just assume this sucks or** **whatever.**  
**Enjoy!  
**  
**X. X. X.**

Roxas wasn't entirely sure he was okay with this, but he wasn't going to tell this to Axel. Not if he had to deal with endless amounts of teasing. The way the blond gripped at his arm rest and held his breath at every turn was loud enough for the redhead behind the wheel.

"We're not going to crash, Rox." Axel laughed as he glanced over at his best friend who looked like he was about to spit up his lunch. "I've had my license for a year now and I'm still alive."

"Yeah, but this is the first time you've driven without your mom in the car." Roxas gulped.

He obviously hadn't been thinking anything of it when Axel insisted on driving the two of them to the theater.

When Roxas had clicked his seatbelt into place and got himself settled into the backseat - that was the moment when he remembered.

Axel turned 17 a month ago. That meant he didn't need an adult in the car with him anymore.

It was much too late for that – Axel was already calling the younger boy to sit upfront with him. After awkwardly and hesitantly climbing into the front passenger seat, Roxas fiddled with the radio dial as the engine roared to life.

Axel wore a smug little smile on his face as they pulled out of his driveway. He was clearly waiting for Roxas to point out the lack of parental supervision.

Biting down on his tongue, Roxas fought the urge to yell at Axel and demand he turn the car around that instant. He stayed calm, casually glancing over at the redhead every so often. He was going to sit there quietly until they reached the theater; he wasn't going to yell, or cry – he was 14 for goodness sake! – and that was _not_ a nervous sweat making his palms clammy!

Pushing carefully on the breaks, Axel slowed to a stop at a busy intersection.

"See that? You can trust me." Axel grinned at the un-amused blond.

"I'd rather we have Reno drive us." Roxas pouted as he rested his head against the cool glass of the window.

"Yeah, well Reno has bet-" Roxas lifted his head in time to watch as a pedestrian ran into the center of the intersection, arms flailing wildly, as Axel was driving forward. "Sh-shit!" Green eyes went wide as Axel slammed his foot on the breaks.

The car swerved as Roxas shut his eyes and ducked his head. Tires screeched and horns blared from outside. He felt the window shatter against his head. There was an overwhelming pressure; metal digging into his side, and he was out like a light.

Axel lifted his head up from the wheel. Ears ringing and vision a little clouded, he felt around for his seatbelt buckle. Warm liquid trickled down into his brow from his hairline, the same bright shade of red as his hair.

"R-Rox." He groaned, reaching towards the passenger seat. His best friend slumped in the seat, unmoving besides the steady rise and fall of his chest. Through the shattered window he could see the car that had collided into them. It looked just as bent up and broken as Axel felt.

Car alarms were going off, one of them was probably his own. He knew he had to get them out of there.

"Come on, Rox. We have to go." There was some resistance as he tried to pull the boy out of the seat and to his side. With a sharp tug, he managed to pry Roxas away from the bent up piece of door that had buried itself into him.

"Shit, Roxas. Oh my god, Roxas." Axel hugged him to his side as he pushed the driver side door open with his free arm. There was a steady stream of fluid slowly starting to soak Roxas' shirt and jeans. Axel swallowed the sour taste on his tongue as he hauled the boy out of the ruined vehicle and into a near-by ditch.

The damp grass was soft under his hands and knees as he lay Roxas down and peeled his sticky shirt away from the gash in his side. The long, deep line of bright red ran up in a straight line, the skin cut clean from the collision.

Axel twisted around and held himself up with his hands as his stomach emptied itself onto the grass. Coughing, he spat out the rest of the bitter tasting fluid and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. The need to tend to his best friend overcame his body's want to wretch, and he pulled himself together enough to face the wounded boy. Stripping out of his black t-shirt, he bit into the soft fabric and tugged until it tore.

"I'm so sorry, Roxas. Oh my god. I…" He wiped his watery eyes after he had tied the ripped fabric around Roxas' waist and ribs. Axel wasn't exactly sure he had staunched the flow, but he _was_ sure that he had to get Roxas somewhere safe.

From the intersection just above the shallow ditch, there were people yelling and cop cars sounding their sirens. An officer was speaking into a megaphone, completely unheard amongst the chaos as he tried to reclaim order. Grey clouds of smoke rose into the air from the collision and the many that followed it.

"Come on, work with me here." Axel sniffed as he gingerly threw the boy onto his back, his hands gripping the back of his skinny thighs to support him.

Roxas whimpered against the back of Axel's sweaty neck, but managed to throw his arms around the boy carrying him to hold on. Axel carried the boy out of the ditch in the form of an awkward piggyback, gasping when he finally made it back to the intersection.

"Sh-shit." Axel was thankful for the fact that Roxas was too out of it to witness any of this; the sight made him want to crawl back into the ditch and hurl his insides onto the grass again.

Sitting in the middle of the intersection was an elderly man, his mouth covered in red as if he had been hit too many times during a vicious fistfight. He looked sick, staring blankly at the ground as he cradled a small bundle in his skeletal hands.

Axel didn't stick around long enough to watch when he brought the bundle up to his mouth and took a chunk out of it. He tried to block out the sound of gunshots that rang through the air as he carried Roxas away from the disgusting display.

**X. X. X.**

Humming softly to himself, Axel watched the boy whose head was resting in his lap. Roxas was slowly starting to stir, causing Axel to straighten up as he watched with hopeful green eyes.

He had carried him away from the scene via piggyback all the way to the one place he knew would be empty on a Saturday.

Twilight Town Museum.

Perhaps he was being paranoid, breaking and entering and all. Calling his mother probably would have been the best thing to do with Roxas injured.

But Axel hadn't been thinking about that.

Instead, he found a safe little corner to hide Roxas away in while he checked out those cool circular things he saw on display on his way in. What had the label called them?

Right, chakrams.

A shattered glass case and a broken overturned vending machine later found Axel patiently sipping a water bottle, waiting for Roxas to wake up. Shiny silver and red chakrams, that Axel had no clue how to use, sat within arms-length away. He hoped he wouldn't ever have to use them, but they made him feel safe.

So, when Roxas finally woke up, Axel felt his breath catch and his heartbeat speed up.

Then Roxas croaked, "Who… Who are you?"


	2. II

**This is what I do when I'm sick and can't sleep. I write fanfiction at 4:33am. Also, just a side note, this chapter takes place 4 years after the first. Ooou, interesting, what happened during those four years? It is a mystery. Not really, actually. A lot of it is referenced in each chapter so it's not exactly a huge secret. Anywho,  
Enjoy!  
X.X.X.**

The first swing of Roxas' key shaped blade sent the nearest flesh-hungry creature reeling into a shelf of what had been some neatly lined chip bags, its head rolling off into the next aisle over. The next left another face planting hard into the tiled floor, its skull cracking as its legs were swept out from underneath it, which was followed by a startled shout from Axel.

"Hey, Roxas!" The redhead hissed as he rounded the corner to face his partner, who was watching the rear. "How about being a little more quiet?"

"Sorry about that, guess I'm just getting a little jumpy?" Roxas sighed as he wiped his blade off on his bracers.

"Yeah? What's on your mind?" Axel reached over the shelf that had been knocked over, avoiding the corpse as he grabbed a family sized bag of chips. Reluctantly, Roxas seated himself next to Axel who had planted himself on the ground cross-legged. The blond looked around, his gaze lingering on the two undeads he had slain moments ago.

"What're you looking around for?" Axel questioned around a mouthful of salt and vinegar chips, his scarf and gloves discarded into a small pile at his side.

"Shouldn't we keep moving?" Roxas asked. He pulled his knees up to his chest, his brow furrowed as he eyed one end of the aisle.

"We can take a five minute break, Rox. The Heartless aren't going anywhere. Relax for a minute." The bag of chips was thrust out to Roxas with an obnoxious crinkling sound.

"Well, that's what I'm concerned about." He stripped his gloves off and pulled his scarf away from his mouth before dipping a hand into the bag. "Those are the only Heartless we've seen in a while." He pointed a bitten chip at the two unmoving bodies that were sitting in a dark pool of red. "You don't think they're planning something, do you?"

"Like what? An ambush?" Axel chuckled. "Heartless aren't that smart, Rox."

"Why're you laughing? It could really happen!" The blond insisted as his cheeks turned pink.

"You watch too many zombie movies. Maybe there's none in here because we spent all morning getting rid of the ones outside."

"Yeah, right." Roxas snorted as he put his gloves and scarf back on. "We should get a move on things. This grocery store isn't gonna clear itself out."

"You don't wanna sit down for a bit longer?" Axel asked as he balled up the half-finished chip bag and tossed it into the aisle over.

"Saix is gonna chew our asses up if we're late for the next meeting. We'll never see our next day off if we give him a reason to be pissed off." Roxas groaned as he lifted his blade and rested it on his shoulder.

"We can just tell the guy that a bunch of Heartless held us back while we were clearing up the place." Axel yawned as he rose to his feet and stretched out his back, arms high above his head. "It's not like he'll check up on the place anyways."

Strapping his chakrams to his belt, the tall lanky man moved to follow his partner. Roxas was nearing the open vacant area of cash registers when he turned around to face the redhead again.

"Was I… ever fond of horror movies? Zombie movies, I mean." He asked quietly, his face heating up as he stared down the laces on his shoes. Roxas would never admit it, but he always felt embarrassed asking Axel about their past. It was like asking about something that should be common knowledge.

Roxas never realized how much it affected Axel when he asked these simple little questions. It warmed Axel, knowing Roxas hadn't given up on those forgotten times they had spent together.

"Nah. You were always a big baby when it came to horror movies." Axel smiled fondly. "I was the horror movie fanatic, you were the wimp that got dragged into watching them with me."

"Yeah, okay." Roxas huffed as he spun around to lead his partner through the rest of the grocery store.

Axel followed as a comfortable silence settled around them. Tugging at his lips was a ghost of a smile he tried to smother. He chewed his bottom lip, allowed himself to be sucked into the memory from their childhood.

_It seemed like a lifetime ago. Axel remembered sitting alone on the concrete steps of his front porch, waiting for the party guests that would never show up._

_Axel had just turned ten years old, and at that age, kids were cruel._

_Axel was weird._

_Axel had no friend._

_Axel liked to hurt small animals, or so the vicious, childhood rumours went. But kids will be kids._

_Right?_

_But all was not lost for the lonely redhead._

_From a couple houses down, Axel could see a young blond boy emerge from the front door. A brightly wrapped box with a large pink bow on top was nestled under the boy's arm. He grinned at Axel after he crossed the street and neared the house._

_"Happy birthday, Axel!" Roxas squeaked as he handed the present to his best friend._

_Axel was convinced that he didn't need any other friends if Roxas was around. It didn't matter that Roxas was three years younger; kids his age were mean anyways._

_It was that night that Roxas experienced his first horror movie. Or, what the young boy had dubbed "horror"._

_The gift turned out to be a DVD copy of Sweeny Todd, one of Axel's favorite movies; or as Roxas put it, "a big kid movie". After a phone call home to Roxas' mother, asking permission to sleep over, Roxas found himself sitting on Axel's bed in a borrowed shirt that was much too large for him, and a pair of Axel's shorts._

_The TV in Axel's room flickered to life as Axel set up the movie for the two of them._

_Halfway through the movie, Roxas had climbed into Axel's blanket, his best friend comfortingly close and a pillow shielding his eyes._

_Roxas really loved the musical numbers, he loved watching Axel get up from the bed and sing and dance around the room, which made him giggle as he would pull the pillow from his face for that moment. It was the scenes where a customer found his throat slit that he couldn't handle._

"What a wimp." Axel murmured.

"What was that?" Roxas asked as he spun around to face the redhead.

"Ah, nothing."

"Right, well I guess we can set up 'camp' now. I'm not completely convinced we cleared the entire place so we'll have to take shifts tonight." Roxas nodded as he opened the door to the staff room, where they had hid their supplies.

"Aw, Rox. Why don't we just barricade the place?" Axel whined as he stripped out of his breeches. "We haven't had a full night's sleep since our last day off." He took a moment to unbuckle his vest and toss it on to the ground.

"Because the place has too many openings. Unless you want to go around moving shelves in front of every door, be my guest." Roxas sat on the bedroll he had taken out of his bag, his armor laid out neatly, while Axel's was discarded into a pile of boiled leather.

"I'll pass." Axel pouted. He snagged one of the cans he had packed and waited for Roxas to finish setting up his sleeping area.

Unlike Axel's sleeping area, which only consisted of a blanket or two and a pillow, Roxas insisted on packing enough pillows to keep him elevated off the hard floor, and enough blankets to keep him warm even if he had to sleep in a snow storm. He wasn't fond of travelling light.

"Saix said we have to get back in time to meet the new member." Roxas said. He paused a moment to use the can opener Axel handed to him. "I don't understand, though. If we're 'Organization 13' how come we're getting a fourteenth member?"

"Who knows? Maybe Xemnas forgot how to count." Axel smirked before bringing his can of cold pasta up to his mouth.

"Doubt it." Roxas rolled his eyes. He really didn't know why it was bothering him so much; Organization 13 was just a name, after all.

"I just hope they're not another Saix. Xemnas has enough pets running that place."

"Hm." Roxas nodded as he set his and Axel's empty can off to the side.

It was a while until Roxas started to doze off, only to be woken by Axel who he had assumed had fallen asleep already.

"Hey, Roxas?" The redhead spoke up in the dark.

"Hm?" Roxas yawned as he sat up to look in Axel's general direction.

"Do you remember my tenth birthday? After all the guests had… left and you slept over?" Axel whispered, his voice a little rough, making it apparent that he had been asleep moments before.

"I can't say I can, Axel. Uh, sorry." Roxas whispered back.

"Huh, it's fine. It's stupid anyways – just something I remembered earlier." He yawned and pulled his blanket up around his shoulders. "Guess I was just taking a stab in the dark there, heh. Anyways, I'll take first shift, so get to sleep, you dork."

Roxas settled himself back into his pillows. The last four years of his life were all he knew now. Surviving was all that he knew. Until three years ago when he joined Organization 13, running and hiding with Axel was all he knew.

And now what? He took orders from some guy named Xemnas.

He didn't know what it was like having memories of a better time; that was something Axel had to endure by himself. Axel had been deliberately keeping him away from their hometown, and Roxas didn't know how he felt about that.

But if Roxas was being completely honest with himself, the thought of finally having memories to ache over?

It terrified him.


	3. III

**I'm still sick and I haven't studied for my exams yet. Enjoy this chapter while I go drown myself in an ocean of biology notes.  
X.X.X.  
**  
Roxas had awoken to find that Axel had stayed up the entire night. The redhead was visibly trying to stay awake, head drooping, nodding off, then catching his self, right before he faceplanted forward into the ground. Not that Roxas minded, this wasn't the first time Axel had insisted on taking the first shift and had "forgotten" that they were supposed to take turns, as partners should.

After a quick breakfast of bread and butter, the bread bag they then hid amongst Roxas' many blankets in his pack, and a quick once-through of the grocery store, Axel and Roxas found themselves traversing the streets of Nibelheim, fully clad in their Organization leathers.

Nibelheim was one of the towns not too far off from the Organization's base in "The World That Never Was", or "TWNW" as it was most commonly referred to. It was perhaps just a couple hours walk, so Roxas was hoping they would make it no later than lunch time.

Because of how close it was to their base, Nibelheim was one of the first towns to be recovered from the Heartless. It was easily one of the safest towns to live in.

One thing that always threw Roxas off was the way these town's people seemed to worship them once they got a glimpse of the Organization uniform. Roxas had seen some pretty odd things before – he had seen women in rags trying to sell off their children for a bit of food back in Hollow Bastion. That had been pretty disturbing. But he was pretty sure these people of Nibelheim would kiss the ground he walked on if he had asked them to.

Axel found these people hilarious, though their attitude slightly unsettling.

So, Roxas averted his eyes elsewhere, ignoring the adoring gazes and the August sun that threatened to cook him through his clothing.

Axel found his self too sweaty to care about their "fans" and opted to fiddling with his scarf, wrapping it around himself in a sort of hood-like fashion to combat the sunlight. It made his sweat soaked hair stick to the back of his neck, making him desperate to get home and shower.

Walking home was not going to be fun.

"I heard this new member is supposed to bring us closer to 'Kingdom Hearts'." Roxas spoke up as soon as they passed the "You Are Now Leaving Nibelheim" sign lodged into the side of the road.

Xemnas always spoke about a cure for all the Heartless – "Kingdom Hearts" is what he had often called it. Roxas supposed Heartless lacked "Hearts", or something. He wasn't quite sure about "Hearts", he had cut those out of Heartless many times before, and quite frankly, he didn't want to point this out to their superior in fear of offending him.

"Huh? I guess anyone working for the Organization would bring us closer if that's what you mean." Axel huffed as he wiped at his brow. "Unless you're talking about someone specifically. Dunno how one person could bring back the dead just by joining a group of people."

"I think it's a load of crap. Xemnas tells us this stuff to make sure we don't leave the Organization." Roxas pouted, scuffing the ground with his boot and kicking up some dirt as they walked down the empty road.

"I doubt that. Vexen seems pretty confident in his work. For all we know, he's already got everything figured out."

"Maybe Xemnas bribes him. Probably bribes Saix and Xigbar, too. That's probably what it is."

"Wow, Rox. You sure are the shining ray of optimism today, aren't you?" Axel snorted. "Say we leave the Organization then. Where would we go?"

"I haven't thought that far yet." Roxas frowned.

It wasn't as if they had a place to go back to. Twilight Town had been reclaimed about a year ago, but Roxas didn't think he was ready for that just yet.

Running from overrun town to overrun town wasn't the life he wanted to go back to either. Sure, he and Axel had developed some very important survival skills during that first year, but it was hard. He didn't even know if he could trust the guy claiming to be his best friend back then, but he had taken his chances with Axel and he was glad he did. At least with the Organization, he had a specific place he could call home.

"Heartless." Axel spoke up, pulling Roxas out of his thoughts.

Down the road were a handful of Heartless, just standing there in a swaying, undead mass. They had yet to actually notice the two survivors just a couple meters away from them.

"We can walk around them if we're quick enough." Axel had lowered himself to a slight crouch, chakrams drawn at his side.

Roxas nodded and readied his blade.

**X.X.X.**

"You guys missed Xemnas showing off the new member." Demyx said as Axel and Roxas emerged from the front hall of the mansion. The sandy blond teenager was idly strumming away on his silver trimmed sitar, as usual.

"You're kidding. We made it here before lunch, why would he hold a meeting that early?" Roxas groaned, pulling his sweat soaked scarf away from his mouth.

"Beats me." Demyx shrugged.

Axel had finished stripping off his make-shift hood when a petite dull-blue haired teenager walked in, a towering brunet following behind. Zexion was never usually found alone, Lexaeus was always around. Axel had always wondered if it got annoying, having a human meat shield watching his every move as if he were a child, but Zexion had never voiced any discomfort. According to Demyx, who spoke to the petite teenager often, Lexaeus had always been protective over Zexion, even before Heartless had made an appearance.

The redhead wanted nothing more than to shower at the moment, his sweaty skin sticking to his clothes, but he supposed they should at least make an effort in taking interest in the new member, even if he could feel his breeches clinging to his thighs through his boxers. _Gross. _

"Zexion." He called out to the younger. "How'd the meeting go?"

"Eventful, I suppose." Zexion shrugged. The towering brunet that had been following him placed himself on the couch beside the mullet-sporting teen.

"What were they like?" Roxas asked, referring to the new member.

"Hm…quiet. About your age, I'd say. She goes by 'Xion', but I didn't get to see her face, she insisted on wearing her hood up. I thought maybe she was just shy."

"And Xemnas thinks she's the 'missing link' to whatever he's been looking for?" Axel had tossed his scarf, gloves, and vest over the back of the couch and sat in only his undershirt and breeches. He was a lot more at ease without the sun glaring down on him and less leather clinging to him.

"Xemnas says that about every new member, but I suppose you two wouldn't have known that." Zexion laughed softly. "He said the exact same thing about you two when you first joined. However, Vexen says that she will play a vital role towards his research."

It was safe to say that most members were sceptical of Vexen's research. He and Zexion proved to be more than capable when it came to treating injuries or illness, but Zexion, as Vexen's apprentice, seemed to be the only member confident in the elder's research being done besides Xemnas.

"I don't see how," Roxas sighed audibly. "but, whatever I guess."

"Don't mind Roxas over there." Axel rolled his eyes. "He's been like that ever since we left Nibelheim. I'm sure whatever Vexen says is true."

The blond glared at him.

"I… thank you, Axel. I should probably get going, Vexen may need my assistance. I hope you feel better, Roxas." The petite teen's eyes softened as he regarded the fuming blond and he gave him a small nod before leaving towards the hallway.

"Zexion, wait up." Demyx followed after, his sitar strapped to his back, swinging back and forth as he ran. Lexaeus moved to shadow the two, Zexion's silent guard, as usual.

"So, who pissed in your cereal this morning, Sunshine?" Axel yawned and stretched before draping his arms over the back of the couch.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did, you dick." Roxas bit out at the redhead. After a deep breath, he collapsed next to Axel on the couch, face firmly planted into the soft armrest. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. All this 'new member' business just keeps throwing me off."

"Its fine, you dork. I'm not mad, just wondering why you'd badmouth Vexen in front of Zexion. The guy's probably full of shit, but he raised Zexion, after all." He ruffled the blond's hair reassuringly, ignoring the fact that his hand was then covered in sweat.

"I didn't even badmouth him." Roxas mumbled into the couch fabric as his cheeks heated up.

"I wouldn't worry too much about the new member." Axel gathered his uniform up in his arms.

"Where are you going?" Roxas asked, lifting his face up from the couch.

"Shower room, I'm covered in sweat and I wanna get there while it's empty. Come on."


	4. IV

**Wow, it feels like forever since I updated this, with exams and all. But exams are finished and I finally found time to write. I don't exactly know if my second semester is going to be as busy as my first, however, I ****_will _****try to at least update every two weeks regardless. Writing, then School. I've got my priorities in place.  
Also, we finally have this fic rolling! Wow, interesting things are actually happening and I get to write satisfying chapter lengths. 2k words? That is the shit I like.  
Enjoy!  
X.X.X.**

Roxas was warm and he had no intention of moving. He was well aware that the blankets he and Axel shared were pulled up over his head, leaving the redhead cold and exposed on the other side of the bed, except for the parts of his body that were pressed against Roxas' legs. Roxas' feet were resting on the redhead's pillow, right next to his head. Axel didn't mind.

Axel started to stir, the sunlight filtered through the blinds hitting his face. He groaned in his half sleeping state and rubbed at his eyes. Any minute now and Axel would get up and shake the blond awake. Roxas knew that he should probably get up now if he wanted breakfast before Saix came around to assign today's mission.

"Rox, up." Axel rasped, throat still rough from sleep. "Roxas." Reaching into the mound of blankets the blond had gathered in his sleep, Axel located a naked shoulder and shook him awake. "I think we slept in."

"Then lemme sleep until we _have_ to get up." Roxas slurred from under the blankets, his voice muffled.

"Right. Well I'm not sticking around until Saix comes by." Axel sighed as he got up and threw on a discarded shirt lying on their bedroom floor. "I'll throw some toast on a plate for you, or something." He called out before shutting the door behind him.

Roxas grunted out some sort of acknowledgment that went unheard.

Thirty six days.

It had been over a month since their last day off.

Roxas remembered he had spent it with Axel; he always spent it with Axel. They slept in until lunch that day, both deciding that that was the best way to start their day off. A late lunch followed once the two finally woke up, still in their sleepwear, of course. Axel's hidden stash of comic books were pulled out from under their bed along with a couple sticks of sea salt ice cream they had hidden in the back of the freezer, and that was how they had spent the rest of their day off. It was a day well spent, if you asked Roxas.

Roxas thought that sounded like a great plan at the moment, the sleeping in until lunch part especially.

A knock at the door made him pry his eyes open and pull the covers from his face.

"Number 13," It was Saix, no surprise there. "The Superior has instructions waiting for you. I suggest you join everyone in the kitchen.

Roxas suppressed an annoyed groan.

"Okay." He answered.

Despite Saix's _kind_ suggestion, Roxas took his time getting dressed into his leathers. He took his time sliding on and tightening his bracers and even decided to fix up his and Axel's bed. He was pretty sure Axel would appreciate him picking up the clothes that were scattered around the room and soon filled their laundry basket.

When he killed what he thought to be enough time, he finally made his way to the kitchen, which was empty except for Zexion standing beside the dining table. The man was holding a sheet of paper and a plate of fried eggs, looking around expectantly until he saw Roxas.

"Good morning, Roxas." Zexion smiled at the slightly disheveled blond.

"Hey." Roxas yawned and sat himself down at the table. He had to admit, it was sort of odd seeing Zexion without Lexaeus.

"Axel left this for you." He placed the plate of fried eggs in front of Roxas before handing him the sheet of paper. "It also seems that we've been paired together for today."

"Really? Where's Axel?" Roxas questioned as he examined the instructions. He and Zexion were supposed to check out the outskirts of TWNW and search for a peculiar sort of Heartless.

"Off to take a shower. He was paired with Lexaeus today. Guard duty, I believe."

It was odd. There was an unwritten rule that Roxas and Axel always worked together, as well as Zexion and Lexaeus. There were the odd days where Roxas had to work with someone like Xigbar who usually worked alone, but other than that, he had never worked with Zexion or Lexaeus, or Marluxia and his wife Larxene, who were inseparable.

"I guess we'll leave when I'm finished breakfast?" Roxas asked politely as he speared an egg yolk with his fork.

"Take your time," Zexion sat next to the blond at the table and opened up his notebook. "today seems like it's more recon, if anything. It shouldn't take too long."

Roxas wondered what Axel was doing at that moment.

**X.X.X.**

It was odd for Zexion to be out on a mission that involved getting up close to an actual Heartless. His job usually required him to be at Vexen's side, assisting him with whatever it was he did all day. When he did get out of the mansion, it was always with Lexaeus.

Zexion's nervous glances here and there while outside of the mansion didn't go unnoticed by Roxas. The blond with the keyblade paid extra attention to keeping stray Heartless away from his anxious companion.

When they were a fair distance away from the Organization's base, Roxas pulled his sheet with the instructions out of his pocket.

"What do you think they mean by 'peculiar' Heartless?" Roxas asked the older of the two.

"I believe there have been sightings of an odd sort of Heartless." Zexion explained. "Xemnas probably wants you to act as a guide while I gather information."

"How will we know what's odd? Do you figure it'll be faster or look different?" Roxas sighed and stuffed the sheet back into his pocket. Their instructions hadn't been very specific.

"Don't worry about it," Zexion laughed, some of the tension eased. "I'll decide what's 'peculiar', you just keep swinging that blade, keeping Heartless away and whatnot."

Roxas didn't make any complaints, it sounded simple enough to him.

The outskirts didn't cover much area, Roxas was grateful for that. That meant they wouldn't be out spending their entire day looking for some odd Heartless with an obnoxiously vague description. Saix's doing, no doubt.

He knew it had been a while since Zexion had been outside of the mansion and was tempted to ask what kind of work Vexen and himself did. However, his apparent rudeness from yesterday made him rethink that decision, and remain silent. He didn't know where he stood on the topic of Zexion's mentor, and didn't plan on stepping on any toes out of curiosity.

With Zexion not one known for small talk, their search continued in silence.

That was until Zexion grabbed Roxas' shoulder rather abruptly when they reached what seemed to be an empty clearing. Roxas would have never spotted the Heartless Zexion had pointed out if he was alone.

The Heartless was hunched over the remains of what was probably once part of the local wildlife, bringing handfuls of flesh up to its mouth every so often. From what Roxas could see, which wasn't very much in the first place with the Heartless' back facing him, it looked like any other Heartless he had dealt with.

"That one?" Roxas asked as they crouched behind a mound of rubble. Zexion nodded and quietly pulled his notebook out of the bag that was strapped to his back.

"It doesn't look any different." Roxas commented.

"Look at the shade of its skin. See how it's slightly ashy?" Zexion scribbled down something in his notebook. "And that smell, ugh."

Apparently Zexion's senses were a lot sharper than Roxas' because he couldn't detect any kind of smell from where they sat, not to mention it looked like a normal Heartless.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to see this Heartless react to a threat." Zexion put his notebook down and pulled a large black camera out from his pack, his fear from earlier apparently forgotten with the excitement of his new find.

"You want me to get close to it?" Roxas asked as he got up to his feet.

"Yes, but if you can avoid harming it for now, please do that." Zexion lifted his camera up, ready to take his pictures.

"Right." The blond nodded and neared the hunched figure. Not exactly knowing what to do to get its attention, he simply tapped the Heartless' shoulder with the end of his blade.

It groaned and stopped its mechanical movement of bringing handfuls of flesh up to its jaws. For a moment, Roxas thought the Heartless was just going to ignore him and continue its meal when it finally turned its head to look up at him.

Its eyes lazily studied Roxas' face, gore stained mouth twitching as it got a whiff of something alive. Growling, it lunged forward just barely catching itself on its feet as Roxas easily sidestepped out of the way.

Roxas was about to make another comment about the Heartless looking no different than any of the others when it straightened its back and stood up like a normal human. The two in the clearing watched each other, unmoving as Roxas waited for its next move.

Smoke began to seep from the Heartless' pores. Roxas had to blink, then blink again to make sure he was seeing right. Ashy skin began to darken, bright red veins appearing and webbing across what flash wasn't covered by dirty ragged clothing.

Zexion's camera went off.

Snarling, the Heartless lunged at Roxas once again, hands clawed and swinging as Roxas shook himself out of his moment of surprise. Easily batting the Heartless away, Roxas looked over at Zexion.

Zexion seemed to be more intrigued than surprised, his pen quickly flying across the page in his hands.

"I'd like a closer look." Zexion perked up as he made his way to the clearing where Roxas nudged the Heartless away with the end of his blade. "If you could keep it from moving…"

"How do you figure I do that?" Roxas asked, slightly unnerved as the Heartless began to pick up speed with its onslaught of attacks. Not that it would be able to match Roxas' speed.

Zexion shrugged.

"I'm not completely opposed to you harming it now." He waved his camera as an explanation.

Roxas nodded and swiftly kicked one of the smoking creature's knees in, the other one clumsily buckling under the sudden lack of support. Roxas lodged his blade into the squirming creature's shoulder, pinning it to the ground.

Odd Heartless or not, years of dealing with these undead made Roxas more than capable for this job.

"I think it burned my boot." Roxas frowned as he dropped to the ground, cross-legged as he examined the scorch mark left on his heel.

"Really?" Zexion quickly snapped a picture of the burnt leather, much to Roxas' surprise.

As Roxas pulled off his boot for further inspection, Zexion studied the incapacitated creature. One thing was for sure, that thing was _hot. _

Zexion was still wary of the flailing creature as it thrashed about, arms still swinging in an attempt to free itself. Some of his anxiousness was starting to come back as he eyed it. He kept his distance as he took his pictures.

"Do you perhaps have something I could take a sample with?" Zexion watched Roxas tug his scorched boot back on.

"Like a knife?"

Zexion nodded.

Roxas pulled a pocket knife from his belt and flipped it open.

"Will this do?" He asked as he handed the small blade to Zexion.

"Perfectly, actually." Zexion nodded in thanks and looked over the flailing Heartless.

He decided his best bet would be to gather a sample from the legs, where he was more likely to get kicked than scratched and risk a chance of getting infected. Gingerly rolling up a dirty pant leg, Zexion pressed the blade to a charcoal black calf. Smoke seeped from the wound, but flesh was still flesh, and dark sticky blood followed after.

Zexion capped the small plastic container he retrieved from his bag once the chunk of black, moist flesh was safely sitting inside.

"Vexen should be happy to see this." Zexion flushed as he handed the knife back to Roxas.

Roxas offered a small smile as he wiped his blade off on his bracers and hooked it back to his belt.

"So, what does this mean then?" He asked as Zexion began packing up his notebook and camera.

"I can't give you a definite explanation," the petite man sighed. "but, I can tell you that the Heartless are changing."

"Which isn't a good thing." Roxas frowned.

"Not a good thing." Zexion repeated slowly, lost in thought for a moment. Roxas wasn't sure if he was agreeing or just simply stating a fact. "A terrible thing, actually."

"What do you figure will happen now?"

"I don't want to say anything yet, not without Vexen's opinion, but this… doesn't look too promising." He frowned, arms crossed.

Roxas didn't like the sound of that. Towns were already proving to be a challenge to reclaim without worrying about the threat of burns and 'peculiar' Heartless.

With a soft grunt, Roxas yanked his blade out of the Heartless' shoulder and thrust it into its throat.


	5. V

**Updating at the speed of fast. I really like writing about Axel in high school.  
Enjoy!  
X.X.X.**

Zexion and Roxas parted ways once they made it back to the mansion. The older of the two was no doubt off showing his mentor his new find.

Roxas entered the kitchen expecting to find Axel there waiting for him, but the only one sitting there was Luxord, an ex-gambler from the far-off seaside town of Costa del Sol. The blond man nodded a hello to Roxas from where he sat at the dining room table.

It was odd being without Axel, Roxas thought as he fixed himself a small dinner of leftovers from the night before. He usually spent every night after a mission with Axel. They made dinner together (for the fact that Roxas couldn't cook to save his life), they used the shower room at the same time, the two even shared a bedroom. That was normal for Roxas.

Before they joined Organization 13, they had been inseparable, although Roxas was sure that was partly for survival reasons as they were always moving from town to town. From the stories Axel always told Roxas of their life before the car crash, they were always together, even that time when Axel entered high school and Roxas was still stuck in elementary school. According to Axel, that had been the worse two years ever.

Roxas ate his dinner alone, wondering if Axel was still on guard duty this late. The redhead would probably laugh if he knew Roxas was worrying about him doing something as simple as guard duty.

Deciding to go to bed earlier than usual, Roxas opened his bedroom door to find Axel sprawled across their bed, a damp towel draped over his shoulders, and one of his comic books out in front of him. He lied there in just a pair of pajama pants, his hair still soaked from his shower.

"Axel!" Roxas grinned as he walked over to the redhead.

"Hey, Roxas." Axel sat up and watched as the blond threw himself onto the bed beside him, landing on his stomach with a _thud!_ "How was the mission today?"

"Quiet." Roxas answered, voice muffled by the mattress.

"True enough." Axel sighed. "Guard duty wasn't much fun. Lexaeus doesn't talk much."

"I wonder why they split us up today. Oh, the weirdest thing happened today!" Roxas perked up, lifting his face from the mattress. Axel nodded with a smile, motioning for the excited blond to continue.

"They sent us to the outskirts to find some '_peculiar'_ Heartless, whatever that's supposed to mean, right? Zexion found it and told me to keep it in once place so I broke its leg and the stupid thing burned me!" The blond frowned at the last part.

"What? How could it have burned you?" The redhead questioned, green eyes widening in surprise.

"It started smoking when it saw me, then its skin got really hot." It sounded absurd to Roxas, even if he had witnessed it first-hand.

"Sounds like it was hitting on you there, Rox." Axel laughed as Roxas flushed pink and smacked his shoulder. "Really, I demand proof of this _hot_ Heartless."

"Right here, where I kicked it." Roxas lifted up his boot, a smug little smile sitting on his face.

Axel took the leather boot and examined it, running a finger across the blackened patch of leather. "That's so…weird."

"Isn't it? Zexion said that the Heartless are changing, which isn't a good thing."

"No kidding, huh."

Axel didn't really know what else to say without making these 'peculiar' Heartless sound like something to worry about, so instead of worrying, he shoved the thought to the back of his mind and pulled a cardboard box out from under his bed.

"I didn't think we'd get to do this tonight." Roxas admitted as he accepted a small stack of comic books from the redhead.

"It was just guard duty, you dork." Axel laughed as he flipped open the comic he was reading from earlier. "Not like they sent me to a different city. I don't think I could survive that – not with someone as quiet as Lexaeus."

Roxas grunted an agreement and snagged a comic off the top of the pile after stripping out of his leathers, leaving him in just his boxers. It was one he had read many times before, the first volume of the _Bedlam_ series – one of Axel's favorites.

Roxas remembered Axel telling him about his twelfth birthday. He had apparently gotten him all eleven volumes of the series, and that was when Axel had deemed them best friends. He was pretty sure that last part had been a joke. Axel always spoke about how they would have to visit Twilight Town again one day and retrieve the rest of his comic collection. Hoping that day would be soon, the blond agreed.

"Hey, Rox?" Axel said after stacking some comics back into the box. It was starting to get late.

"Yeah?" The blond was lying on his back, a new comic held up in front of his face.

"We have a day off tomorrow, I don't know if Saix told you or not."

"Why would Saix tell me? He hates me." Roxas frowned as he handed the comic to Axel.

"Yeah, guess he wouldn't have." The redhead chuckled softly. "Did you want to sleep in tomorrow, or was there something you wanted to do instead?"

"Sleeping in sounds good, or we could go into town tomorrow." Roxas suggested as he got himself settled into his side of the bed. "My skateboard hasn't seen the outside of our room for a while."

"Alright, town it is then." He flicked the switch on their lamp that sat on the nightstand and pulled the covers up to his chest. After yawning a good night to the boy at the other end, Axel rolled over and shut his eyes.

**X.X.X.**

Casual clothing that hadn't seen the light of day in quite some time drew less attention to them they found as the two walked through the dark, damp streets of TWNW. Roxas' skateboard rolled along-side the lanky redhead as they walked off their early dinner at what seemed to be the only diner in town. Out of all the things that Roxas hadn't forgotten how to do, skateboarding was one of them.

Being the first to wake up as usual, Axel had let Roxas sleep in past breakfast, not that the drowsy blond had any complaints about that. They walked around for a bit, chatting idly about nothing in particular. There really wasn't much to do in this town. They then stopped by the small diner near the outskirts of town; Axel was pretty sure that had been the highlight of their day. The majority of the shops in the town had been turned into shelters shortly after the Organization had established their presence once the town had been reclaimed.

He hated it. This town was too dark, it seemed like it was always either cloudy or raining. Twilight Town had at least been sunny for the majority of the day. There had been ways to actually amuse themselves back home – Axel had some friends, which he met through Roxas and was pretty sure they only tolerated him because of the little blond, and there had been more than one diner to entertain them. Skate parks, shopping malls, the clock tower above the train station, there were so many different things to do if nothing had ever happened four years ago.

And Axel hated it.

There was a part of him that desperately missed the Roxas he had grown up with. Of course, he had learned to love this Roxas as well, but it wasn't the same. There was a large feeling of mutual familiarity missing between the two. He couldn't shake this feeling of loneliness, even with the blond around.

"Did we ever have any real fights?" Roxas questioned suddenly, out of what seemed like nowhere. For a split second, Axel was sure that the blond had been reading his mind.

"What do you mean?" Axel looked at him, frowning a bit. He was smoothly strolling along on his skateboard, as if he hadn't realized his question took Axel by surprise.

"Back home. Was there a time when you thought you actually hated me?" Roxas' tone was a lot more casual than the topic he was questioning about. Perhaps it really was just a casual question to him. When he realized Axel was staring at him with scepticism he turned red and looked away.

"What brought this up?"

"Just curious." He mumbled.

"I could never hate you, you dork." Axel sighed, suddenly tired from spending his day walking around.

They had had their fair share of fights; that's practically a given seeing as they have known each other for over ten years. The majority of their fights had happened during the two years they had been separated by schools - really stupid fights that Axel couldn't even remember what had started them. Trivial things that seemed so small compared to their current situation.

"I guess there was one fight, back when I first got into high school." The redhead looked up at the greying sky, cloudy as usual. He crossed his arms and sighed at the vague memory. "To be honest, I can barely remember what we were fighting about in the first place."

"Well, what happened?" Roxas thought he might have crossed a boundary in questions that should not be asked. He didn't like that frown on Axel's face.

"We didn't talk for a week, I think." Axel chuckled softly, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"That's it?" Roxas let out a breath of relief. "I thought it would have been worse than that."

"What do you mean 'that's it'? What did you expect? Passive aggressive Facebook statuses? House egging?" Axel laughed at his apparent disappointment.

"Shut up!" Roxas flushed, trying to smother a small smile as he punched Axel in the shoulder. "What's Facebook?"

"Nothing important." Axel chuckled as he flicked the blushing blond's forehead. "Dork."

_ The blond boy was the first person Axel had come out to, admitting that during his first week of high school there was a particular boy in his English class he was quite interested in. Being his best friend of around eight years, Roxas was more than supportive, encouraging him and making him feel better about the situation he was in._

After constant prodding from the seventh grader, Axel had eventually worked up the nerve to ask the boy of his liking to hang out; not a date, just a simple hangout between two classmates. The boy happily accepted and after a day spent in Axel's room, his TV blaring with video game music, cellphone numbers were exchanged and Facebook contacts were added. Axel and this boy began to grow very close.

Axel didn't have many friends his age; his only friends were Roxas, Olette, Pence, and Hayner, who were two years younger than him. Having a friend his own age was thrilling to the fourteen year old. For once, he had a partner to do school work with – he wasn't that one kid in the class that the teacher had to stick into a group of random strangers anymore. It was like high school was a new beginning for him, where most of the students didn't know him, and the ones that did were few.

Roxas was happy for his best friend.

Days spent with Axel began to get less frequent for the blond. At first Roxas let it slide, the twelve year old reasoning with his self that he wasn't Axel's only friend anymore. Axel had to split his time evenly between Roxas and his new friends.

When phone calls started to end with "sorry, I have plans that day" or simply "I'm busy", that was when Roxas began to get annoyed. He stopped calling Axel, stopped dropping by his house every so often after school. This went on for a month before Axel realized his little blond friend was deliberately ignoring him.

So, Axel showed up at Roxas' door the following day.

When Roxas opened up to find a furious Axel, he squeaked indignantly and attempted to slam the door shut in the redhead's face, only to have it thrown wide open. He was yanked out of his house and had to face the fuming redhead.

"What is your problem?" Axel had growled, tempted to grab the blond by the collar and shake him. As far as he was concerned, he hadn't done anything wrong.

"I'm not the one with the problem," Roxas had bit out at him, glaring up at the older boy that towered over him. "you're the one ignoring me for someone you just met!" He decided he'd rather just be straight forward with it than tiptoe around the situation.

"I wasn't ignoring you! I have other friends too, you know. Are you upset because I actually have friends besides you now?"

"Axel, it took you a whole month to realize I wasn't around anymore. I'm not asking for all of your attention, I just want you to at least make me feel like we're still friends." Roxas' voice faltered slightly, though he tried to ignore the slight shake. "If you weren't ignoring me, why didn't you notice earlier?"

"I… I don't need to explain myself to you. I don't need you." The second the words left his mouth, Axel regretted them. He didn't mean it. That hadn't come out right. He wanted to gather Roxas up in his arms and hug him and apologize. Axel's face softened as he watched Roxas' bright blue eyes widen with surprise at what he just said.

"Fine." Jaw trembling, Roxas turned and slammed the front door behind him without another word. Slumping to the ground, his back against the close door, Roxas swiped at his eyes, denying the fact that those were tears soaking his cheeks.

Axel felt terrible.

That could have gone a lot smoother if Axel had kept his anger in check. He wanted to knock on the front door and try to talk to Roxas again but he knew the blond wouldn't open up in his state.

A week of complete silence and overwhelming loneliness, despite the presence of his friends from high school, found Axel back on Roxas' doorstep. He wasn't angry this time around – if anything, he was just sorry.

"Axel?" Roxas opened up the front door slowly just a bit, surprised to see the redhead standing there. "What're you-"

"He doesn't want to be friends anymore." Axel interrupted with a slight shake in his voice. "The boy I liked, I mean."

"What? Why not?" Roxas cracked the door open wider to properly talk to him.

"I told him how I felt." Axel chuckled sadly. "He said some pretty shitty things to me. Called me a freak and stuff, told all his friends."

"Oh my god Axel. I'm so sorry." Roxas stepped outside to give the taller boy a hug, which Axel desperately needed.

"I should be the one apologizing." Axel mumbled into Roxas' blond spikes. "I didn't mean to replace you like that. Guess I was a pretty shitty friend, huh?"

"I was too." The shorter boy mumbled into his friend's shirt.

The two made up and settled their dispute with a couple sticks of sea salt ice cream and a couple hours of sitting in front of Roxas' TV, a stack of Disney movies piled up on the couch. Axel's choice of course, not that he would have admitted it.

But Roxas couldn't help but feel responsible for Axel losing his friends. 


	6. VI

**I have to write a 30 page memoire for Writer's Craft class and I'm sitting here writing fanfiction. Priorities.  
Also, I wanted to thank the few people who reviewed because reviews make me so happy.  
Enjoy!  
X.X.X.**

No one knew why Demyx insisted on playing his sitar in the kitchen at the table while everyone ate breakfast. Everyone was long past telling him to go elsewhere with his instrument. At first, the sandy blond's sudden performances had grated on Roxas' nerves, but he had gotten used to it; it wasn't as if Demyx was a terrible musician.

From what Roxas had gathered from talking to the young man with the sandy blond mullet, he had been in high school when he experienced his first Heartless attack; jazz band to be exact. Demyx had been only 16, surviving with his classmates until he happened upon Zexion and Lexaeus out on a mission. The blond, who has been harbouring a slight crush on the dull-blue haired medic ever since, had insisted on following them back to the Organization's base, much to Lexaeus' dismay.

He didn't like to speak about the classmates he had left on a whim.

Roxas was shovelling spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth when his redheaded partner walked into the kitchen.

"Morning." Axel yawned, sitting himself down beside Roxas with a plate of bread and jam in his hands.

"Morning." Roxas mumbled around his spoon.

"Dem, don't you have a mission or something to get to?" Axel groaned, slightly annoyed at the sitar player's performance this early in the morning.

"I've got a day off." He said in a sing-song voice, still strumming away at his sitar.

Axel groaned and covered his face with his hands. The blond beside him laughed and clapped his friend on the back. "Eat your breakfast, Axel." The blond teased as he dropped his spoon into the milk filled bowl.

"Yes mother." Axel mumbled, biting into his toast.

As Roxas got up to put his bowl into the sink, Saix walked in, clipboard in hand as he eyed each person sitting at the kitchen table.

"Axel." The azure haired man addressed as he ripped a sheet off the clipboard. "You are to set off as soon as possible."

"What is it?" Roxas walked over to his partner and peered over his shoulder.

"Number 13." He looked up to find a different sheet of paper thrust into his face. "I have a different assignment for you. You are to set off as soon as possible as well."

"I'm not with Axel?" Roxas frowned as he examined his own sheet.

"No. You will be working with Number 14 today, unless you have any complaints?" He raised an eyebrow, expecting Roxas to cause a fuss.

"No, I don't have any complaints." Roxas sighed as he folded the sheet and stuffed it into the waistband of his pajama pants. He shrugged at Axel before leaving the kitchen.

By the time Axel walked into their bedroom to get ready, Roxas already had most of his leathers on. The blond was buckling up his pants with a small pout.

"Where are they sending you?" Roxas questioned, not at all happy with today's arrangements.

Axel paused for a moment as he tugged off his tank top. "Oblivion." He finally responded.

Roxas turned to face him, eyes wide. Why would they be sending Axel _there_ of all places? Although Roxas had never been sent there, he was certain it was farther than a day's walk and by far one of the most dangerous places they could be sent to. Oblivion was rumored to be the place where the Heartless virus originated, and with the entire place swallowed up and infested with all of those creatures, Roxas was pretty sure that was more than a rumor. It was one of the many places Organization 13 would benefit greatly if reclaimed, but were having difficulties doing so.

"Why are they sending you _there?_" Roxas protested as his voice rose with panic. He couldn't stand the thought of the one person he trusted in such a terrible place for any longer than a day.

"Calm down." Axel soothed as he pulled the blond flush against his chest, stroking soft spikes. "I won't be going alone. The report said I'll be going with Marluxia, Larxene, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion."

Not used to being in this sort of position with Axel, Roxas stayed silent for a moment, at a loss for words as he listened to Axel's heart pound beneath his ear. He knew they probably held each other like this before back home, but Axel hadn't held him like this since he woke up in Twilight Town Museum four years ago. "How long are they keeping you there?" Roxas mumbled against bare skin.

"Don't know." Axel moved his hand to gently rest against Roxas' neck. "Xemnas is letting us take the carriage but he didn't say how long we'd be staying. Hopefully not long."

"I don't want you to." Roxas looked up at the redhead, brows furrowed. "I don't want you going there. They're trying to separate us."

"I'm sure that's not the reason." Axel laughed. "Xemnas thinks he could find the answer to Hearts in Oblivion, right? Zexion's research about those 'peculiar Heartless' probably spooked him, that's all."

"Be careful, alright?"

"This isn't a death sentence." Axel grinned, ruffling the blond's hair. "I'll be back before you know it."

**X.X.X.**

The first time Roxas met Xion was in the front entrance of the mansion. She was standing by the grand double doors, a white key shaped blade hanging by her side. The hood of her vest was up, obscuring his view of her face.

"Hello." Roxas ventured as he approached the girl. She didn't respond. Nodding an acknowledgment, she turned her back on him and pushed on of the doors open. Roxas thought she must be shy.

"So," Roxas yanked the sheet of paper out of his waistband. "we're supposed to be looking for a campsite not far from town. Belongs to some hunters that went missing."

Xion turned and pulled the hood away from her face. She had the same blue, blue eyes as Roxas; it was kind of like looking into a mirror if the frame was a pretty girl with dark hair.

"Would you like to lead?" Roxas questioned after a moment.

"I don't know the area that well. You can lead."

"You haven't been in TWNW long?" Roxas asked as he led them off beyond the gate.

"Not long," Xion replied timidly. She walked along behind the blond boy, her key shaped blade gripped tightly in her hand. "The first mission they sent me on was with a guy name…" Her brows furrowed as she wracked her memory. "He had an eye patch and a scar on his face."

"Xigbar?"

"That's the name!" The girl smile brightly.

Roxas laughed. "That's not so bad. You'd think they'd start you off easy and let you get used to the area first."

"I would have liked that." Xion sighed softly. "Xigbar seems really nice but he didnt like waiting for me to catch up."

Roxas knew exactly what she was talking about. Although Xigbar was a pretty decent guy, he didn't wait for anyone. Being the only member permitted to use firearms, Xigbar could take out Heartless far faster than any of the other members.

"Is that the campsite we're looking for?" Xion asked as they approached the seemingly empty tents. Charred piles of wood sat in the center of the circle.

"Check the tents, but be careful." Roxas nodded as he approached the pile of logs.

Something was wrong. The hunters had been reported as missing over 24 hours ago, yet the logs emitted thin strands of smoke as if they had been put out moments ago; as if whoever had been here before was in a hurry to avoid being seen.

"The tents are empty except for a couple of backpacks." Xion said after inspecting the last of the tents. "Do you think we have the wrong camp?"

"I don't think so. Why would they just leave all their gear here?" Roxas looked over the tents; no rips, tears, blood or anything. It was like they just up and left.

"Maybe they were taken." Xion suggested.

As Roxas was about to point out that the hunters would have at least put up a fight, a shadow in his peripheral vision caught his attention. It was nothing more than a figure shooting past a pile of rocks into the cover of old debris.

"This was a set-up." Roxas spun around, drawing his key blade as a figure rushed them from behind the debris. He quickly dispatched the Heartless, sending it to its back as he lopped off its head.

"It's fast." Xion gasped. More figures appeared from the debris, all of them groaning in hunger as they circled the two.

Out of all of them, there was one that stood out to Roxas. This one, though looking just like all of the other Heartless, had a certain glimmer of self-awareness in its eye. He could tell by the way it held itself; by the way it studied the two of them. Which was impossible as far as Roxas was concerned.

"How much experience do you have with Heartless?" Roxas glanced at Xion, who had a certain look of determination as she kept her key blade poised and ready.

"Not a lot." She admitted. She had only been with the Organization for a little more than a day, after all. Roxas hadn't heard anything about her past.

Roxas clenched his jaw anxiously. If he had Axel with him, the two of them would be able to take out this group, or at least enough to create a clear path to get away.

"Watch my back." Roxas ordered. His plan was to take out the peculiar one – the one he deemed to be the real threat here. If Xion could hold off the stragglers for a couple minutes, they could make it out and report back to the mansion.

He rushed the Heartless, key blade held high over his head before bringing it down on the creature. Though the movement was sluggish and clumsy, he didn't expect the Heartless to be able to dodge the blow. Roxas barely made it out of the way as a clawed, grimy hand cut through the air, aiming for his face.

Xion was panting behind him, no doubt having difficulty keeping the creatures away because of her apparent lack of experience.

Swinging his blade horizontally, he lodged the teeth into its ribs. There was a large cracking noise as he yanked the blade back, the teeth pulling chunks of rotting flesh out and exposing the yellowing ribs. Lunging forward, he plunged the tip of his blade up through its jaw, grunting as the blade exited the crown of its head.

"Let's go!" Roxas pulled his blade back and grabbed Xion's hand as he fled from the circle of Heartless. The girl had managed to get rid of two Heartless, their still corpses lying where she once stood.

They didn't stop running until the mansion came into view, the closed iron gate a short walk away. They slowed to a stop, panting. Roxas wiped his black blade clean on his bracers.

There was no way they had just been ambushed by a bunch of Heartless. Wasn't it just a couple days ago that Axel was teasing him for such absurd thoughts? He needed to speak to Zexion.

"Our blades are similar." Xion perked up with a small smile once she caught her breath. She held hers up to his, as if to further prove her point.

"You're right." Roxas smiled. Xion's was white, where his was black. The guard around his handle looked like horns rising up then flaring outward, where hers was more elegant. Delicate even, if it wasn't a weapon made of strong metals. "You're not from Twilight Town, are you?"

"I can't remember where I'm from/" Xion frowned, staring down at her blade. "Xemnas found me in Traverse Town, injured."

"I'm… sorry." Roxas studied her for a moment, not really knowing what to say. "You're like me."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't remember anything." Roxas admitted. "I woke up four years ago with Axel in a museum. I can't remember anything before that."

"Axel… he's the one you're always with? The one with the spiky red hair?"

"Yeah."Roxas brightened. "He's my best friend. Apparently we've been best friends forever."

"It must be nice having a best friend from back then." Xion smiled warmly. "He's like your personal memory box."

Roxas laughed. "I'll have to tell him that."

They signalled the member on guard duty to let them in. It was Xigbar standing on top of the walls with his guns at his side.

The man with the eye patch gave them a small wave before opening the gates.

Those intelligent eyes of the Heartless tugged at the back of Roxas' mind. He needed to speak with Zexion, but the group would have already set off. He'd have to speak to Xemnas.

Their leader wasn't going to be happy that they couldn't find the missing hunters and his report on the Heartless would probably "spook him" as Axel would say. A search party would probably be sent out by tomorrow

Roxas sighed and pushed the mansion door open. He missed Axel already.


	7. VII

Weeks passed. A month passed. The members hadn't come home yet. It was starting to grow colder – it was September now. Come October, Roxas will have to start bringing out his overnight blankets to keep warm. Even if Axel teased him about his obsession with keeping warm, he knew the redhead secretly appreciated the extra warmth; not to mention Roxas had a tendency to only steal one blanket for himself, leaving Axel with his own.

At first Roxas liked having the entire bed to his self. He didn't have to worry about kicking Axel in his sleep or stealing all of the blankets in the middle of the night. But he missed having someone sleeping close to him every night; he missed having the warmth of Axel's legs pressed up against his, or feeling Axel gently move his feet off his pillow to get comfortable every morning.

Roxas wasn't lonely during the day. These past few weeks, he often found himself paired up with Xion for missions. She wasn't as reliable as Axel when it came to dealing with Heartless but she was a fast learner, easily picking up tricks by watching Roxas.

After the second mission together, Xion began to open up a little more. She loved asking questions. Sometimes she'll ask about the other members, or sometimes she'll ask Roxas to tell her stories about the missions he and Axel had been on in the past. She specifically enjoyed the time when Roxas got lost in an apartment building in Midgar and eventually found Axel yelling for him off a balcony. Apparently the thought of the worried redhead running from room to room was absolutely comical.

"You must be really special to him." Xion had laughed.

"I guess so." Roxas had shrugged as he turned to cover up the blush forming on his cheeks. "For a while it was only the two of us. No wonder he freaked out when we got separated."

As of right now, Roxas was lying on his and Axel's bed, sweaty, tired and still wearing his dirty leathers from today. He had just gotten back from yet another mission with Xion - one that had required too much running for his liking.

Saix had informed him that a meeting was about to be held when he had walked into the living room. He told Saix that he wasn't feeling too well and was going to lie down for a bit. After escaping Saix's glare, he had found Xion, who promised to keep him up to date with the meeting.

A small knock on the door then, "It's me. Can I come in?"

"It's unlocked." Roxas called out as he rolled over to face the door.

She peered in timidly at first. "I wish they let me lie down too. That meeting was really boring." She was wearing her pajamas – fuzzy blue pants that were probably very warm and a matching tank top. Her hair was still damp from her shower.

"What did Xemnas say?" Roxas asked as Xion planted herself down on the bed by his feet.

"Oh!" Xion perked up with a huge grin that made her eyes sparkle. "The members from Oblivion are coming back tomorrow."

Roxas sat up quickly to face her. "Really?" He smiled.

"Really!" Xion laughed.

"It's about time!" Roxas huffed, though still smiling. "It feels like they've been piling mission after mission on us."

"You mean the workload isn't always this bad?" Xion gasped in relief.

"We usually get days off regularly. My last one was just the day after you came."

"That's good to know." She was silent for a moment before she looked over at Roxas again. "Roxas?"

"Hm?"

"There's something else I have to tell you." She began slowly, not wanting to crush the boy's happiness. "Apparently there was an imposter at Oblivion – someone wearing the Organization's uniform."

"Imposter? What did they do?" Roxas frowned.

"Xemnas said he doesn't know the extent of the damage, or why they did what they did, but they broke into the mansion everyone was staying at." Xion looked down at her hands and fiddled with the soft fabric of her pants. She really didn't want to upset Roxas; he had been trying so hard to keep his mind off of Axel these past few days. "There are a couple members missing."

Roxas watched her for a moment before looking down at his hands. There were a couple members missing. He didn't want to jump to conclusions but the fact that Axel could be among those few was tugging at his heart.

Roxas felt sick. Like he couldn't get enough air in his lungs as he processed this information. "He didn't say specifically who was missing." It wasn't a question.

"We don't know what missing really means." Xion reasoned as she moved to place a hand on the boy's shoulder. "For all we know they just haven't been accounted for and are chasing the imposter."

"The imposter got away then?"

"Yes." Xion sighed. "I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you this…"

"It's not your fault." Roxas gave her a small smile. "I'd rather have you tell me than Xemnas, at least."

Xion laughed softly and nodded, though still feeling guilty for upsetting her friend.

"Anyways, Axel can deal with Heartless, I'm sure he can deal with some imposter that stumbled across the mansion." It was apparent that Roxas was trying to convince himself more so than trying to convince Xion. The girl picked up on this and nodded, laughing.

"That's right! He'll come back to you, you'll see tomorrow."

"Then Axel can tell you the stories himself."

Axel would come back home tomorrow and Roxas won't have to sleep alone anymore. Roxas was sure of it.


	8. VIII

**This took way too long to update, ugh. But I finally finished that 30 paged memoir I had to write for Writer's Craft class. Let me tell you, writing about myself is so boring, god, fictional characters are much more fun to write about. March Break also means more time to write about fun stuff, whoo!  
Enjoy!**  
**X.X.X.**

Roxas was alone. Literally.

He was wandering the outskirts of TWNW with Xion on their daily mission as usual. Xion was pretty good at finding her way around the place now, despite the lack of landmarks among the vast wasteland. It was just a spark of random chance that they found themselves separated by a large group of Heartless.

"Xion?" Roxas called out, scanning the area as Heartless lay dead around him. He had yet to spot any peculiar Heartless, thank goodness.

Where had she gone to? It shouldn't be too hard to find her. One moment she was standing right next to him, key blade ready, next moment she was swallowed up by a mass of shambling dead.

"Xion!" he called out again, a far off group of Heartless caught his attention. The dead were surrounding something, a lack of rotting bodies punched right in the center. That was where Xion was, Roxas was sure of it.

Roxas ran, diving right into the fray. He shoved bodies, pushing at dead weight and causing Heartless to topple. They paid him no mind, only continued for the center, clawing at loose dirt. Xion was in reach in no time.

She was standing in the center, just as Roxas had suspected, white key blade now drenched in gore, bodies piled up in a weak makeshift barrier that ended above her knee. Black hair clung to her forehead with sweat, she was panting, dirty, tired; they needed to get out of there.

"I've got your back." Roxas leaped over the sad excuse of a barrier to Xion's side. She threw him a weak grin and let out a breath of relief. She truly believed she was a goner.

Roxas didn't know how long they stood there, fending off the onslaught of slow but gradually overwhelming attacks. He couldn't find an opening, everywhere he turned, Roxas saw cold, lifeless faces edging towards him. The expanse of empty wasteland was nowhere to be found. Roxas grit his teeth and knocked an outstretched hand off the body it was attached to.

He knew Xion wasn't going to last long. The barrier was doing a lousy job, even with Roxas at Xion's side. Roxas could hold out a lot longer but he didn't want to risk burning Xion out. He didn't need one failure of a mission discouraging or harming her.

He'd have to create an opening of his own.

"Pushing forward, alright?" Roxas didn't give Xion a chance to respond. He began moving into the crowd.

Not long after Roxas planted his feet over the barrier, he felt something hot wrap around his ankles. Heat bit into the leather of his boots. Looking down, he could see charcoal black fingers digging into the blackening leather. Kicking at the stiff flesh, Roxas heaved forward, resulting in landing him face first into the dirt.

"Get off!" Roxas grunted, kicking at the charred face emerging from under the fallen bodies. The peculiar Heartless didn't let go. Hot palms began searing into Roxas' ankles – his skin now. Howling in pain, Roxas thrashed about, hitting any nearby Heartless that had the misfortune of being near the boy.

There was a sound like dry wood cracking, then stiff, hot fingers were pried off his flesh. Looking up, he could see Xion slapping at her smoking gloves, the fingers discarded, the peculiar Heartless' face split clean in half.

"Roxas," Xion grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry! Your ankles, I couldn't-"

"We have to leave." Roxas threw himself to his feet, ignoring the searing pain in his flesh.

Xion supported his weight as they trudged through the crowd. It was much easier getting in than it was getting out. They were moving against the current now; hands grabbed at them, clawed, disgusting. Teeth snapped at them.

They knocked down whatever Heartless got in their way. Roxas wanted to sit down and ice his ankles. He hoped they hadn't been burned too badly… but walking was excruciating. It hurt to stand. His legs wanted to give out.

The two of them broke into a run once free from prying hands. _It. Hurt. Like. Hell. _It didn't even feel like Roxas was running, more like Xion was forcing him to move and he had no other choice but to listen.

The burnt up leather rubbed harshly against bubbly flesh. Xion panted apologies the whole way back to the mansion, even when the mobs of Heartless were far behind him.

**X.X.X.**

"Medic!" Xion screamed as they burst through the heavy double doors. "Zexion, Vexen, someone!"

Roxas fell to the ground, sweaty and in pain. Closing his eyes, he dropped his head back against the ground, the wood flooring cool against his scalp. He could feel vibrations in the ground from the few members coming to see what all the yelling was about.

"The hell happened?" Axel was the first one there. He dropped to Roxas' side to lift him gently into his arms. Roxas reached up to touch his face. "Shhh…" Axel soothed, trying to get Roxas to stop squirming out of his grasp.

"What's going on here, Poppet?" Xigbar was standing against the doorframe, arms crossed, his one eye glinting with curiosity.

"A weird Heartless got him," the small girl panted as she followed behind the redhead carrying her friend. "We're gonna have to take him to Vexen."

"Damn," Xigbar eyed the exposed flesh of Roxas' ankle as Axel walked by. "_Vexen_ isn't gonna be able to help with that."

Axel ignored him. "What happened?" He asked flatly.

"I don't, the H-Heartless, it just grabbed him when he tried to get us out-" Xion tried explaining.

"Then this is your fault." It wasn't a question.

"N-no! It wasn't…" She gasped, trying to keep up with Axel's long strides.

"Just," he sighed, shaking his head. "Don't mention Vexen around Zexion, alright?"

Xion nodded. She wanted to ask about what had happened with Vexen. She wanted to explain herself fully so Axel wouldn't blame her. They turned to the infirmary and she kept her mouth shut.

The mansion's infirmary was by far, much cleaner and organized than many of the hospitals in the cities and towns The Organization had laid claim to. This was good for the members, but not so great for citizens. Though hospitals usually had many doctors and nurses, most untrained, The Organization had Zexion and Vexen which was all they needed.

Zexion was sitting on one of the beds, his face buried against his palms. Beside him sat Demyx, his arm draped over the younger's shoulder. When Zexion looked up at Axel, it was apparent he had been crying.

"This is a bad time, I'm sorry." Axel sighed as he lied Roxas down on one of the beds.

"Not at all." Zexion walked over to the bed and pulled on his brave face, Demyx close behind. "It's what I'm here for."

Axel helped Zexion take Roxas' ruined boots off. He gingerly peeled the leather away from his skin, careful not to wake his exhausted friend. The boots were charred and stained with blood and puss. They'd have to be thrown out.

"I'm going to assume this was done by a peculiar sort of Heartless?" Zexion forced his voice to stay steady. Axel shook his head.

"I wasn't with him. Xion was." They both looked to the girl for answers. She confirmed Zexion's suspicions with a nod.

"Demyx, if you could grab a cool towel?" Demyx was out of the room before Zexion could look up at him for a response.

The wound wasn't fatal, and as far as Zexion could tell, Roxas wasn't infected with anything. Even so, Axel and Xion stayed by his side until he woke up.


	9. IX

**Wow, FF has been giving me a bit of trouble, lame. How am I spending my March Break? Uh, writing, Lightning Returns, Dragon Age 2 mostly. I have no life, really.  
Anyways, enjoy!  
X.X.X.**

Roxas awoke to find an unfamiliar ceiling above his head and his ankles feeling like they had been skinned and salted. He turned to find a certain redhead napping in a chair beside the soft bed he had been sleeping in.

"You're back!" Roxas gasped loudly, startling the redhead awake. He laughed at the annoyed expression on the sleepy face.

"'Course I'm back," Axel yawned, stretching his arms up over his head. He was still dressed in uniform, his black scarf hanging low on his neck. "I told you I'd be back, didn't I?"

"A month ago, yeah," Roxas said, pulling himself upright in the bed. "Where's Xion?"

"Bed probably. Dinner was a couple hours ago, everyone's in bed."

Roxas looked around the dimly lit room; he was in the infirmary. He had only ever been in this room once a couple years ago when Axel had broken his leg during a mission. Luckily for them, they had only been on guard duty and it didn't take a lot of effort to get him into the mansion. It hadn't been fun for either of them. Axel was bedridden for a while and Roxas had to work with Xigbar, which wasn't so bad. Axel was more careful after that.

"Smells like rubbing alcohol." Roxas commented idly, trying not to doze off again.

"Smells like _clean,_" Axel laughed. "Speaking of, we're both still in gross uniforms."

"Smells like _ick_," Roxas made a face and turned to lift his feet out of the bed. "I'm not sleeping in the infirmary, Vexen might poke at me while I sleep or something."

His bare feet hit the cold tiled flooring. They were sore and he felt like he had just run a marathon. There was a hot stinging wrapped around his ankles, like he had been shackled in hot, iron cuffs.

"Wait, Rox, you can't-," Roxas faceplanted into the floor before Axel could walk around the bed and catch him. He groaned and pushed himself to sit up, staring at his freshly bandaged ankles.

"Well, this sucks." The blond sat there with a cute little frown, causing Axel to burst into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, Zexion said you might not be able to walk for a while," Axel smiled softly as he knelt down next to his friend. "I can carry you though, if you'd prefer that to crawling."

"I highly doubt you can carry me," Roxas snorted but wrapped his arms around the redhead's neck anyways. He was scooped up as if he were a small child, legs wrapped around Axel, chin resting on his shoulder.

"You were saying?" Axel smirked, hands gripping the blond's thighs to support him. "I've carried you before. I carried you across Twilight Town once."

"Alright, sure," Roxas yawned. "How come Zexion fixed me up? Was Vexen busy with someone else?"

Axel's body stiffened beneath him for a split second. He scanned the hallway outside the infirmary before carrying Roxas out. "About that… you might not want to mention Vexen around Zexion for a bit."

"Hm? Why not?"

Axel pressed a finger to his lips, thought he knew Roxas couldn't see him. They passed by Demyx asleep on the couch, snuggled right up to his sitar. "I'll tell you when we get to our room, I guess."

Roxas nodded and rested his cheek against the leather on Axel's shoulder, closing his eyes. He was trying not to cross his ankles but he was tired and he didn't want to slip off of Axel. Axel's hair was tickling his face, making it hard to doze off but he was okay with this.

The blond had missed Axel, and the familiar smell of Axel mingling with after-mission sweat was comforting. He nuzzled his face into Axel's neck and yawned.

"You need a shower," he mumbled against the warm skin, causing Axel's heartbeat to pound harder in his chest. He wondered if Roxas could feel the rapid beating.

"You're one to talk," Axel grunted as he rested Roxas against the door to unlock it. When he got it open, he carried Roxas through the dark room, careful not to trip on any stray clothing, and dumped Roxas onto the bed.

The blond boy was lying on Axel's pillow, but he took no notice of this and buried himself into one of the blankets. With a small yawn, he shut his eyes and waited until he could feel the mattress crater under Axel's weight. He expected to feel Axel slide into bed on the opposite side and was surprised to find his friend gently rolling him to the side. Roxas' pillow was placed beside Axel's and the lean redhead slid into bed beside him. If it weren't for the fact that Axel slept in pajama pants and Roxas hadn't bothered to take off his uniform, their legs would have been pressed flush against each other, skin against skin. Axel tried to ignore this as he shut his eyes.

"Axel?" Roxas whispered into the dark. His eyes were still shut but he wanted to hear his friend's voice before he dozed off. "What happened at Oblivion?"

"Rox, you had a long day," Axel sighed as he squinted in the dark. He could barely make out the outline of Roxas' face, which was only a couple inches away from his. "Maybe you should get some sleep. Those burns won't heal if you stay up."

"I don't wanna be left in the dark. The whole mansion probably knows by now."

"Rox, come on. Don't you wanna just sleep?" He was evading the question.

"I'm not sleeping until you tell me." Roxas pouted childishly. If he hadn't been lying down, he probably would had crossed his arms and stomped his foot.

"Fine, fine," Axel laughed softly, pulling his self upright in the bed. "You're such a dork." He reached over to their night table to flick on the lamp, creating a dim glow in their room. He could see Roxas clearly now.

"You might as well take off that uniform while you're up." Axel yanked one of the blankets free and wrapped it around his bare shoulders. "I guess… I'll start with the night when the imposter broke in. Xemnas told you guys about that, right?"

Roxas shook his head as he pulled his top off. "Xion mentioned it one night."

_One night?_ Axel bit down his rising jealousy as he recounted that night in Oblivion.

_Axel had been trying to sleep in the room he picked out in the huge mansion. Oblivion didn't have working heat or electricity so he had been tossing and turning in his bed each night, blanket wrapped tightly around him. He missed the natural heat that radiated from Roxas in the bed they shared. He didn't get a lot of sleeping done in Oblivion._

_The sound of shattering glass from down the hall outside his room caught his attention. He was out of bed and chasing the dark figure within minutes, his only source of slight was the moon shining through each passing window. Clad in only his pajama pants, the cold air chilled his skin as he ran._

"They didn't stop running when I yelled at them, so I followed them into Vexen and Zexion's room." Axel sighed, staring up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head.

_ Marluxia and Larxene followed soon after, an oil lamp tightly gripped in the pink haired man's hand. Between the two residents of the bedroom who had been so rudely woken up, Axel, Marluxia, and Larxene, they had the hooded figure cornered._

_They didn't expect the imposter to dive past Vexen and snatch the large leather bag he kept all his work in. The older man was knocked on his back, winded by impact._

"We didn't expect… he didn't…" Axel's voice cracked and faltered as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to forget the image of the oil lamp being snatched out of Marluxia's hand, falling through the air, shattering on Vexen's chest, and engulfing him in flames. He couldn't forget the sound of Vexen screaming mingling with Zexion's terrified shouts as they tried to put out the fire.

_Marluxia and Larxene gave chase and that was the last he had seen of them._

_Lexaeus came into the room once he heard the shouts and pulled Zexion away from the charred corpse. Axel knew he should have gave chase, but he was in shock. He sat there on Vexen's bed, drowning in the sound of Zexion's sobs._

_Lexaeus eventually woke him from his trance to wrap the corpse up. He left and they hadn't seen him since._

Roxas had been waiting patiently, sitting in only a pair of boxers as he waited for Axel to pull himself back together. They had seen many things on their missions together – there had been disturbing things they'd rather not speak about but, seeing someone you personally know go up in flames, flailing, screaming, you don't just shrug that off. That was something you just didn't move on from.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that alone," Roxas whispered as he reached to grab Axel's hand. The innocent contact seemed to pull the redhead out of the terrible memory. "I'm sorry I forced you to tell me."

He sat there and stared at the blond.

"I'll be alright," Axel exhaled finally. "It's Zexion I'm worried about."

"How about we don't worry for a bit?" Roxas gave him a small smile as he pulled the blanket up to lay down under it. "You should get some sleep."

"_We_ should get some sleep," Axel smiled back softly as he flicked the lamp off. "Night, Rox."

"Night, Axel." Roxas mumbled. When they both finaly drifted off, their hands were still tightly clasped together, finger entwined.


End file.
